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Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Console Corner: Review of Titanfall 2

In
my slow journey back into video games, I’m discovering interesting
byways—lesser walked paths of online media—that are proving more
valuable for trustworthy, consistent content than the mainstream
outlets. As such, games the mainstream media do not cover, or cover
poorly, are being brought to my attention—sleepers, future cult
classics, and indie hits. Included in this list are good games that,
for whatever reason, got the short end of the stick upon release, and
therefore did not gain the popularity they deserved. Rarely
discussed in the same light as such repetitive titles as Call of
Duty, Battlefield, Destiny, etc, is Respawn
Entertainment’s 2016 Titanfall 2. Possibly the best
first-person shooter ever developed, likely many gamers aren’t
aware of it, but should be.

Titanfall
2 is a two mode game: single and multi-player. My internet
connection is shit, not to mention I tend to gravitate toward
single-player experiences, which means I did not try the multi-player
mode. I would say, however, it appears the game was designed to
primarily be a multi-player experience, not to mention the
single-player impressed me so much that I thought of trying to log
in. More later…

Though
clocking in at only 7-8 hours of total gameplay, the single player
campaign remains very solid. The story arc evolves naturally and is
nicely low-key in that it doesn’t, like Mass Effect, Destiny,
and numerous other sci-fi shooters, attempt to tell an epic tale
of galactic destruction. The player starts the game as Cooper, a
mech Pilot in training, who is taken on what is supposed to be a
simple mission to a quiet planet, only to have things go sideways
when a group of heavily-armed mercenaries attacks. Forced to take
over piloting duties when his captain dies, Cooper and his mech BT
are thrust into battle and must reunite with their squad. In the
course of reuniting, however, they discover just how unquiet the
planet is.

Calling
the single-player campaign a tutorial for the multi-player would be
an injustice. But it is perhaps somewhat inevitable given the above
premise: a fresh recruit is forced to learn the ways of combat, and
slowly rises through the ranks. The storyline has been done before
in many books, and does lend itself to evolving the player’s skills
toward a more complex, multi-player experience. And there are couple
interesting skills to master. Foremost is wall-running. Vertical
surfaces tactile, players are able to get from point A to B by
sliding/running along walls. In terms of close-quarters gun combat,
this adds a whole new dynamic, not to mention gave developers the
option to add non-standard puzzle-platforming to break up gun combat
in the single-player campaign. Another skill is sliding. Players
able to switch from a dead-run to knee slide (a la 80s rock
guitarists on stage), it is another option for maneuvering around the
game’s environments and avoiding shots than just walking, jumping,
and sprinting. Combined with the variety of guns and grenade-like
explosives, gameplay is fresh and dynamic.

But
those skills pertain only to the time the player spends as Cooper the
ground soldier. A significant portion (40-50%?) of the single-player
campaign is spent as Cooper inside BT operating the exoskeleton and
blasting away at other mechs and soldiers. Mech combat is slower (as
it should be) in terms of mobility, but there are considerable more
options for fighting. From thermal shields to lasers, chain guns to
hover-pods, missile batteries to smoke fields, etc., etc., there are
eight total loadouts for BT that feature an assortment of options for
attacking and defending. Playing as Cooper alone is satisfying for
the speed, variability of movement, and precise gun play, but being
BT’s operator is just as fun for the amount of pounding that can be
delivered and taken. Mech play in Titanfall 2 does not
possess the level of complexity and customization as say Mechwarrior,
but it perfectly delivers the clunky, claustrophobic feel of being in
a giant metal exoskeleton, blasting at enemies across a futuristic
battlefield.

And
this is all not to mention the reason why Titanfall 2
may—may—be the best FPS game ever made: the controls. The
details and textures of the various environments are not the greatest
ever made, but where Respawn clearly did invest their time is game
mechanics. Suffice to say, controls are responsive, smooth, kinetic,
precise, and just feel right. I played Titanfall 2 after
having played Uncharted 4, and it made Uncharted 4’s
combat feel clunky and dated. Enemy hit zones are generous, but not
too generous, just as aiming is a loose affair, but not so loose as
to require exquisite focus. Movement is fast enough to do what you
want, but not so fast as to be uncontrolled. Having a minor climbing
mechanic, jumping to higher platforms is never an exercise in finding
just the right spot (as with many FPS games). The balance between
all these elements is such that zipping around the environments,
double-jumping to take down an enemy, running along a wall to launch
a grenade, dashing away to find cover is all velvety effortless but
never feels as if an AI assist is turned on, which, as far as I have
read, it’s not. To be fair, I have not played every shooter game
out there, but in terms of pure mechanics of movement and shooting,
Titanfall 2 is the best I have played.

As
mentioned, I did not play multi-player mode. Watching matches
online, however, it seems a frenetic, fast-paced affair that requires
mega finger twitch to keep up, stay alive, and accomplish the various
objectives. According to Wikipedia, there
are eleven different options for multi-player, which is huge. Thus
it would seem that Respawn invested just as much time, if not more,
in developing the multi-player mode to ensure balance, variability,
fairness, and enjoyment are all present in gameplay. Certainly arena
combat with both soldiers and mechs is not something seen in any
other franchise that I know of. My old-man muscles are likely not up
to the task of keeping up with younger players who’ve trained their
whole lives on FPS, but the thought of testing the limits of my
internet connection has crossed my mind more than once to see how the
superb controls work in the multi-player arena.

If
I had any wishes for the game, one would be a boss fight or two with
another human (all boss fights are with mechs), such that the Pilot’s
movement mechanics could be put to the test. Another would be a
slightly longer single-player campaign. What exists is good,
satisfying, and defines a clear story arc, but in the end I was left
wanting for another two or three hours—I don’t know where
developers could have added it, but here’s hoping Titanfall 3
will have a 10-12 hour campaign that exercises the mechanics they’ve
built (not to mention a certain, really interesting cause-effect
switch).

And
all this is to get to the elephant in the room. Why is Titanfall
2 not more popular? Why did I pay only $15 for a used copy two
years after it was published when Grand Theft Auto 5,
Uncharted 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Dark Souls 3, and
other such games years after release retain a relatively high price
point? There are of course reasons, and I won’t go into them
here. But as mentioned in the intro, gamers should at least be open
to going back and taking a look at this title. Given its quality
compared to a lot of other, more popular shooters, I think there is a
chance it could rise to the heights it was intended for. To
be clear, Titanfall 2 is not the greatest game ever made, and
I am a tiny voice in a big field, but take this as a recommendation
to at least check it out if FPSs are your thing. Good games deserve
to be played.